Human Nature: Side Stories
by TailFear
Summary: Just some little side stories to go along with the story of Naruto and Gaara in Human Nature...Next up: In Dealings with Demons.
1. Dust and Dirty Windows

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, never have, (probably) never will.

**Note:** These are just some one-shots and drabbles that weren't fit to be real chapters in the big story, so they'll go here.

**Human Nature: Side Stories**  
By: TailFear

**Dust and Dirty Windows**

Uzumaki Naruto mumbled in his sleep and rolled over, again. It was as if the blond chuunin couldn't stay still even in his sleep, not that he could stay still during the day either. Still was barely in Naruto's vocabulary, and it only applied to hiding or dangerous missions, and even then he practically _vibrated_ with bottled energy as if his muscles were determined to jump out of his skin.

Naruto muttered something else in his sleep, most likely something about his beloved Ramen, judging by the way he was drooling and gnawing on his poor, lumpy pillow. He really looked like an idiot when he did that. No wonder no one had tried to assassinate him when he didn't _look_ like a threat, let alone more than brain-dead.

Yet this was the boy who was hated by the village, or at least most of it. He was feared by adults because of the demon sealed inside, and hated by children who only understood from their parents that Naruto wasn't to be liked or trusted. It didn't help that he had no parents and had whisker-like markings on his face. He had been shunned from day on, without even knowing what he had done to cause this hate, this fear that was continually, always directed at him.

Gaara watched Naruto sleep, never really able to do so himself. There were times, yes, times when the other boy would watch over him as the sands started to gather slowly, increasing minute by minute until Naruto felt that the volume of sand was too great and would wake him, causing the red-gold grains to collapse into a pile on the carpeted bedroom floor.

After the first few weeks Naruto had stopped trying to get the dusty sand out of his carpet with a vacuum (something that Gaara was always rescuing his sands from anyway), and had struck an agreement with his formidable partner that said Gaara would get the grains up himself, and Naruto would stop vacuuming. Despite this even Gaara couldn't get all of them off of the floor when they decided to move on their own, causing the eventual defeat of both boys as they gave up.

The same could be said for the color of the sand. During the first week Naruto had conned Gaara into washing his sand, something that the red head was extremely skeptical about (actually he was skeptical about water in general, especially if he was supposed to get near it). No matter how many times the sand was washed and dried the only thing that changed was the sand's smell. After the fourth such attempt Naruto gave up, leaving Gaara and his red-gold sand in peace.

Gaara snorted as Naruto let out a particularly effeminate giggle in his sleep and left the bedroom. The taller teen took up his customary spot in the living room amidst a quickly growing pile of books that the blond had yet to complain about that were being piled around Iruka's old couch. They still needed to fix the broken windows before it got cold. Their quick fix of cardboard and tape wasn't going to help much in the winter, and the only thing it really did was attract dirt on the window itself and on the floor inside as well. The red head would tell his partner when he woke him up a few hours later, it wasn't his problem, especially since he was above such demeaning labor as cleaning (that one time with the couch didn't count, he'd been even more out of his mind than usual...).

It had been a shock to realize that he was in a place where people didn't automatically quake in fear. Sure, they looked away and tried not to recognize his presence, but they didn't show the same fear that most of the people back in the Sand had on a daily basis. If anything they tolerated him, or at least the people he had the most contact with did, even if it was only during training time, he had the feeling that without such supervision a few of them would have gone running the other direction (meaning the girls, Sakura still hadn't gotten used to having him around, but she was getting better).

After a while Gaara quietly exited the small apartment and hopped onto the roof, spending the last few moments of the morning watching the sun rise. This was one of the few things that he had been able to keep doing since his arrival in Konoha, especially since they didn't really take to him policing their nighttime politics (they did that well enough on their own and didn't need his help anyway, even if he _did_ have ulterior motives). So he kept in the neighborhood of Naruto's apartment, sometimes buying books, sometimes watching the blond sleep, and sometimes just sitting on the roof and watching the sun slowly eat away at the night until it was time for him to go inside and wake his partner.

This had turned into his life. But he didn't feel bad exactly, didn't feel restless or angry, just felt comfortable in a place where he was accepted for who he was (even if he was called a lunatic on a daily basis), and not just feared for what he carried. It was different, this acceptance, and it was growing on him, but he wasn't about to just go jumping into the proverbial arms of trust and friendship. No, it may have been getting better, but Gaara still believed that he was the only one who could look after himself, and nothing short of monumental was going to change that.

**TBC...**

Well, this was going to be Chapter 05...but as you can see it isn't (and it is shortened and condensed and probably better than it would have been anyway). The real Chapter 05 is started and on its way, so just hang on, it should be out by the end of Feb. (its going to be long...reeeaaalll long.) Thanks to everyone who has reviewed on HN Chap. 4 and the one shots! You all are awesome!


	2. Sand, Sweets, and Cotton Candy Hair

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. It hasn't changed.

**Human Nature: Side Stories**  
By: TailFear

**Sands, Sweets, and Cotton Candy Hair **

Sakura had been surprised when she had first been ambushed by Gaara's sand on that first day. She'd been surprised yet again when he'd shown up to training with Naruto later on the same day, then kept showing up afterwards. She was continually surprised by his restraint, by his icy demeanor, by his acceptance of Naruto (really, it was more tolerance than anything else), by his insanity, and by his carefully hidden passions. To sum it all up, she was surprised by _him_.

In the beginning she hadn't really expected Gaara to function on a ream that didn't consist only of himself. But there he was, working so fluidly with Naruto that they were almost of one mind, and the two of them working with her as well once their partnership had been firmly cemented into place. They would train as a team, Sakura on nin and taijutsus, Naruto on stealth (surprise, surprise), and Gaara on close range combat. Sakura never would have thought that she would end up throwing rocks at Gaara's head in order to get him to dodge instead of just swamping her with sand (which he occasionally did anyway -but at least it didn't smell anymore).

The first time she'd seen him collapse, clutching his head in agony as sand violently swirled around his form, she'd seen something that she'd never seen before, she'd seen him in genuine pain. It had never occurred to her that having a demon sealed inside his body could hurt him (especially since Naruto didn't outwardly seem to mind his, and she'd just attributed Gaara clutching at his head to him being more than slightly insane at the chuunin exams). She had tried to rush to him in some futile attempt to calm him down, only to be bowled backwards head over heels as his sand swung out to smack her away. Naruto had suddenly appeared in front of her, stopping the next wave of sand heading in her direction before heading for the eye of the storm.

When the flying sand finally calmed, she got up from the ground, brushing dirt and sand from her hair and clothes as she approached her teammates. Naruto had managed to punch the other boy square in the face, effectively pulling the possessed boy out of his psychosis long enough for the red head to regain control of his body. Her green eyes watched with fascination as Naruto ran his fingers through Gaara's rust-colored locks, seemingly calming the red head down as Naruto's fingers gently ran over his scalp.

Naruto had looked up and smiled at her, beckoning her forward with his free hand. She had been nervous as she approached, unsure of Gaara's stability. The blond then reached out and grabbed one of her hands, pulling her close enough to him that she had to crouch down to keep her balance beside him.

"He likes it."

Naruto's words, in their slightly unnerving way, caused her to blink as Naruto, who still had control of her hand, submerged her fingers into Gaara's hair. The red strands were surprisingly soft, making her blink as she ran her fingers through the silky substance of her own accord.

"It's so soft."

Her nearly breathless whisper was enough to snap one of Gaara's light green eyes open. Sakura startled and would have jumped back had Naruto not kept a firm grip on her shoulder.

"Calm down you lunatic, she won't hurt you."

And Gaara closed his eyes and allowed Sakura to continue to run her fingers through his hair while Naruto just smiled and watched.

Sakura had also been surprised to find that Gaara had kept a cache of candy squirreled away. The coffee she hadn't been surprised by, but she hadn't expected to find a good-sized bag of candy stashed away in the vegetable drawer (the only place Naruto _wouldn't_ look). When she'd pulled the bag out with a puzzled expression Gaara, who had been in the small kitchen at the same time doing who knows what, had been quick to snatch it away with a glare that made Sakura cringe. From then on she'd had fun finding and moving his stash, sometimes leaving him a note, sometimes just eating some of it, just to drive the red head nuts (but not too nuts).

Slowly their lives were falling in place around each other, like pieces fitting into a puzzle, with blond and red first, then adding pink into their group. Sakura had never thought that she would end up working with two of the most insanely powerful (and insanely stupid, depending on the moment) individuals she and most other people had ever met. And yet, she was happy as she walked down the street, casually teasing Naruto as she kept a hold on Gaara's arm, working on the team's newest project which was to help Gaara with physical contact. A smile graced her face as she looked at her two teammates. There wasn't anywhere else in the world that she'd rather be.

**TBC…**

All right, so these drabbles are to help me brainstorm as well as to give ideas about the story. I know that everyone wants an update in Human Nature, but these are a little easier to produce (especially since I can write them in school…class? What class?). Don't worry though, the next chapter is in progress and it will be a big on with two big ones following. My beta has also been sick, so it may take a little past this coming weekend, so expect an update around the beginning of March.

Thanks to **Alicia**, **Sabaku no Kawaii**, and **Lady-Frisselle** for your reviews….I'll update the real thing here shortly, I promise.


	3. In Dealings with Demons

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never have, never will.

**Human Nature: Side Stories**  
By: TF

**In Dealings with Demons **

In the years after Gaara's defeat at the hands of Naruto the bloody-haired boy had taken the time to reflect upon the ideals that had kept him going for so long. Naruto was the first, and only, person to defeat him, and the blonde boy had done it by defending something almost no one else had, the people who were precious to him. It was because of Naruto's ideals, and Gaara's subsequent defeat, that Gaara's outlook and goals had been changed.

Despite his change of heart towards most other people, he was still possessed by a demon that was spectacularly bloodthirsty. Just because Gaara didn't want to kill the people who had become close to him, the situation wasn't one of Shukaku sitting back and allowing himself to become completely overpowered by his small host. For a while it seemed like Gaara was going to lose his internal fight as his fits got worse almost daily until Shukaku was finally appeased and an agreement was reached between the two beings in Gaara's body.

When it came to fighting, the only difference in the red head's style was that he aimed away from allies, instead of just obliterating everything and everyone in the vacinity. This didn't impact his unpredictability, especially when Shukaku's screaming cracked his control and he lashed out at anything that moved. Fortunately, most of his allies were able to recognize when his control was weakening and take cover until he'd managed to regain full control.

Blood was, and always had been, a factor in anything that Shukaku did, through Gaara or otherwise. This led to the internal deal between Gaara and his demon that allowed the tanuki to take all of the blood he needed from anyone that was killed during the course of a mission, but even this sometimes wasn't enough, leading to a few of Gaara's fits. Despite this, Gaara was slowly becoming more stable, more controlled, and more respected by the Sand village.

The compromise between boy and demon had come with some interesting side-effects, including Gaara's use of his partial transformation into Shukaku without starting to lose control. Part of the change in Gaara was due to his defeat, but most of it was due to the willpower that Gaara started exercising over the demon when it started acting up. But even with this new calm Gaara was still unable to sleep.

As he walked calmly forward sand swirled in a spherical shape, growing arms that lashed out at the hired thugs standing in his way, leaving a trail of nearly bloodless enemies in his wake as particles of sand streamed out behind him, curling against the floor and walls before catching up again. His darkly ringed eyes were focused forward, intent upon their destination. Their bottomless green reflected the light thrown from the particles of sand swirling around him, specks of gold flashing against the cold calculations performed in his mind.

He walked forward, each step signaling another death as a pawn threw themselves into the crushing grip of his sand. A smile twisted his mouth as his eyes lit upon the sword flashing as it landed and stuck into the ground directly in his path. The tattooed ninja stood with crossed arms, kunai bristling as he looked down at the short red head surrounded by swirling sand, a superior smirk gracing his face.

Gaara didn't say anything, just sent his sand forward, knowing that this one would die just as all the others had. He continued to walk forward, even as the sword flashed in the gold-flecked light and came down upon his shield.

**FIN**

Notes: The next chapter of HN should be up within the next couple of days, it's over half way done, and will then just need to be beta-ed. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!


End file.
